He said: "The event was originally supposed to be held at Goldsmiths University."

"There were some threats that police had found from Muslim extremists.

"We took precautions because those groups are international.

"Robot sex is against the Muslim religion, it's equated to homosexuality.

MOVED: The event was originally supposed to be held at Goldsmiths University (Image: GETTY)

"Police in Malaysia got in touch with us ahead of the conference.

"We have a very good relationship with them after out conference got banned from the country in 2015.

"The church has hired security just in case. In 2017 you can't be too careful."

Cheok, 46, believes the threats may have come from "students" in the UK, but said he could not elaborate.

"London is totally for free speech so it's surprising," he added.

"I think the way to combat those attitudes is being more open."

The first conference, held in Portugal in 2014, saw about 40 academics present their research on robots and human relationships.

A spokesman for Goldsmiths, University of London, said: “While we are disappointed that, due to circumstances outside our control, this conference is not being held at Goldsmiths this year we fully support this important area of research and continue to host events on this topic.”

Daily Star Online has contacted the Metropolitan Police over the alleged Islamist threat.